CARACAS (AP) — More than a year after resigning at home to a draw against Venezuela, Brazil was hoping for revenge on its visit to Vinotinto. A missed penalty by Vinicius Junior condemned Canarinha to the same result.
Venezuela took a point again from Brazil, which had never even tied in its visits to Vinotinto in a World Cup qualifier but resigned to a 1-1 draw on Thursday to see its streak of two consecutive victories interrupted.
The Venezuelans have never defeated Brazil in a tie, but they had two draws, both away. In the last duel between Venezuela and Canarinha, held in October 2023 at the Arena Pantanal in Cuiabá, they also tied 1-1.
Thursday’s game ended with heated tempers and the annoyance of the Brazilians, after the sprinklers on the field were activated just as the replacement minutes were being played.
Brazilian coach Dorival Júnior stated that his team deserved more and “tried to create at all times”
“We try to play. This is characteristic of our team,” he highlighted.
In the 43rd minute, Raphinha opened the scoring with a free kick that hit the post and into the net, after a foul on the edge of the area by midfielder Cristian Cásseres on Bruno Guimaraes. It was the third goal by Raphinha, from Barcelona of Spain, in the last two rounds of the qualifiers.
Raphinha stated that, instead of scoring a goal, he would have preferred to win.
“In my opinion we were looking for victory, when we don’t win we don’t need to score goals, for me the most important thing is to win and when we don’t win I come out a little sad because we could have won the game,” he said. However, “it is an important point that we achieved away from home” against a difficult team that showed its quality.
The tie came 41 seconds after the start of the second half through midfielder Telasco Segovia with a powerful shot from the balcony of the area, assisted by a delayed pass from Jefferson Savarino, Botafogo midfielder. Segovia came on in the second half, replacing Jhon Murillo.
Segovia, 21, expressed his ease at scoring his first goal with the national team and highlighted that it was “the result of the adjustments that were made for the complement.”
The coaching staff asked them to have more possession of the ball, “to come together” and that is why “we found the spaces” and “we were able to tie this game,” he added.
The match was balanced in the first minutes until Venezuelan midfielder Yangel Herrera, from Girona in Spain, was substituted at 15 due to discomfort in his right ankle. From that moment on, Brazil took over the midfield and immediately brought danger to the goal defended by Rafael Romo; but he was slow to get ahead due to his own mistakes, rather than the defensive qualities of his rivals.
Venezuela was not intimidated. As soon as the match began, the score tied 1-1 and at times stole the spotlight. For long passages both tried insistently to shake the nets.
In the 62nd minute, Brazil wasted the penalty. Vinicius Júnior was knocked down inside the area, but in the end the Real Madrid striker was the victim of a masterful save by Romo to maintain parity.
La Verdeamarela was left with 17 points out of a possible 30, provisionally in third place in the World Cup qualifiers that will be co-organized by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“I think that, respecting all possible assessments, for everything we did in the game, we deserved better luck,” said Dorival Junior. “It was a nice game to watch, frank, open, with the midfield of both teams prevailing. I hope we continue to improve and grow, although Brazil deserved a better result.”
Venezuela, the only South American team that has never played in a World Cup, accumulates 12 points. It is temporarily in seventh place, which grants the right to compete in an intercontinental playoff.
The top six qualify directly for the World Cup.
La Vinotinto had just added two defeats and four draws in its previous six games. He has only scored four goals in his last seven games. Their last victory came at home 3-0 against Chile, on October 17, 2023.
But he was robbed of the draws with the Seleção.
For the next qualifying match, against Uruguay, Brazil will not have defender Vanderson, while Alexander González will be absent for Venezuela, who saw the red card after slapping Vinicius in the face, who pushed him by his back after the defender knocked down the Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli.
Leandro Cufré, who directed the match in place of Fernando Batista – relegated to the boxes due to an accumulation of yellow cards in the last two rounds – lamented that, when his team was playing better and could do more, González’s expulsion conditioned their actions.
Herrera and José Martínez, Corinthians midfielder, came out with ailments and will be evaluated. Cufré hoped that “they do not have any serious injuries and will be available for Tuesday.”
“There is always the bittersweet taste that more could have been done, but the way the game was presented it could also have been lost,” Cufré acknowledged. “I think it is a very valuable point,” Cufré added.
The match was played at the Monumental stadium in Maturín, in the far east of Venezuela.
Next Tuesday, Venezuela will visit Chile in Santiago and Brazil will receive Uruguay in Salvador.
